A system for identifying a drug simulant includes an electronic sensing system structured to measure the value of an inherent property of the drug simulant; a processing unit in electrical communication with the electronic sensing system; and a memory unit in communication with the processing unit, the memory unit having a look-up table including a range of values of the inherent property of a given fluid and corresponding names of simulated drugs associated with each value. The processor is structured to identify a name of the simulated drug corresponding to the drug simulant by receiving signals indicative of the value of the measured inherent property from the sensing system and comparing the value to the look-up table in the memory.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A system for identifying drug simulants that serve as surrogates for real drugs, the system comprising: a plurality of drug simulants in liquid form, each of the drug simulants having a common inherent property which has been selectively modified among the plurality of simulants in a predetermined manner such that each drug simulant may be uniquely identified from the other drug simulants by measurement of the value of said inherent property; a port structured to receive a flow of a drug simulant from among the plurality of drug simulants; an electronic sensing system in communication with the port, the electronic sensing system being structured to measure the value of the inherent property of the drug simulant received by the port; a processing unit in electrical communication with the electronic sensing system; and a memory unit in communication with the processing unit, the memory unit having a look-up table including a plurality of predetermined ranges of values of the inherent property of the drug simulants, each range being associated in a predetermined way with a corresponding name of a real drug, wherein the processing unit is structured to identify the name of the real drug corresponding to the drug simulant received by the port by receiving signals from the sensing system indicative of the value of the measured inherent property of the drug simulant and comparing the value to the predetermined ranges of values in the look-up table in the memory unit.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the inherent property comprises one from the group consisting of: conductivity, color, pH and optical refractive index.
3. The system of claim 1 further comprising: an electrode chamber in liquid communication with the port, wherein the electronic sensing system comprises: a plurality of electrodes disposed in the electrode chamber; a liquid conductivity measuring circuit electrically coupled to the electrodes which is structured to output a signal corresponding to the conductivity between the electrodes; and a data acquisition interface electrically coupled to the liquid conductivity measuring circuit and which is structured to receive and digitize the signal corresponding to the conductivity between the electrodes and output the signal to the processing unit.
4. The system of claim 3 further comprising a flow meter in liquid communication with the electrode chamber, the flow meter being electrically coupled to the data acquisition interface and structured to communicate output to the data acquisition interface.
5. The system of claim 4 further comprising a collection chamber in liquid communication with the flow meter.
6. The system of claim 3 wherein the electrodes are a pair of spaced electrodes formed from stainless steel.
7. The system of claim 3 further comprising a portion of a simulated human body, wherein the port is disposed on the portion of the simulated human body.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein the port comprises at least one of a hand IV port or an antecubitum IV port disposed on the simulated human body.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the system further comprises a portion of a simulated human body, and wherein the electronic sensing system is disposed in the portion of the simulated human body.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein the system further comprises a portion of a simulated human body, and wherein the electronic sensing system is disposed on the portion of the simulated human body.
11. The system of claim 1 wherein the measured inherent property is conductivity.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein the processing unit is further programmed to: determine a stable conductivity value by detecting when the derivative of the number of signals indicative of the value of the measured inherent property of the liquid is less than a predetermined threshold value, and identify the name of the real drug by comparing the stable conductivity value against the look-up table in the memory unit.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein the processing unit is programmed to identify the name of the real drug by comparing the stable conductivity value against the look-up table in the memory unit by determining that the value of the conductivity is within a predetermined range surrounding a calibrated electrical conductivity value for a certain real drug in the look-up table in the memory unit.
14. The system of claim 12 wherein the processing unit is further programmed to continuously measure a volume of the liquid injected even before a stable conductivity value is reached and associate the volume measured with the liquid after the name of the real drug corresponding to the liquid is determined.
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January 25, 2013
August 28, 2018
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